This invention relates to a device for holding a club or baton of the type carried by police officers and the like, and more particularly to a device for both allowing the club or baton to be held in a conventional ring in a locked condition, and yet allowing release of the club or baton when properly manipulated.
Police batons, sometimes called nightsticks, police clubs, etc., have been employed by law enforcement agencies for years for use in non-lethal control of people and for defense. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 27,335; 3,307,754; and 3,944,226. Such batons are formed of elongated sticks which have a generally circular cross-section. Batons of this type are typically carried in a ring which is attached to the officer's trousers or belt. In order to facilitate this, the batons are provided with a protruding shoulder portion at the base of the handle of the baton so that when the baton is inserted into the ring, the shoulder will contact the ring and prevent the baton from sliding therethrough.
The above-described baton and carrying ring provide a simple and easy-to-use weapon for the police officer, but it also presents some problems and dangers to the officer. For example, the baton may easily slide out of the ring if jarred or otherwise toppled and to prevent this, the officer must spend some of his time simply stabilizing or holding the baton in his hand in order to prevent its loss. Furthermore, because of the ease of removal of the club from the ring, anyone, including an assailant, may remove the baton from the ring while the officer is occupied in other matters where his attention is not directed to maintaining the baton in the holder. It has been known for assailants to remove an officer's baton and then assault the officer with the baton.
Although various arrangements may be devised for simply securing the baton in the ring, this would not meet the needs of the officer in carrying a weapon which can be rapidly put into use by quick and easy removal of the baton from the ring.